When I come to again, the first thing I feel is a roaring headache. My lungs burn when I breathe through my mouth. A metallic taste lies on my tongue, and I swallow to make it go away, but it lingers. Everything hurts. My head. My mouth. As if I’ve been hit a couple of times … but I can’t remember a thing.

And when I open my eyes, I’m still so dizzy; I can barely make out a thing.

It’s dark as night. Not a single light surrounds me except the one at the far end of the room.

The room … with no windows.

No plants.

No sunlight.

Nothing.

All I can see is a gray concrete wall surrounding me.

I try to get up, but my feet don’t feel like they belong to me, and I struggle to get anywhere. But I don’t give up. I keep crawling across the floor, hoping to make it to the light, just so I can see where I am.

But I can’t.

Not because my muscles gave up.

But because I physically, literally can’t.

Between me and the light … is glass.

I turn around, trying to find a way around it, but there’s no crack. Not a single one in all the glass surrounding me. Not even at the top as I try to stand on my toes. Nothing … but glass.

A cage.

My heart stops beating.

The panic rises again, bubbling to the surface.

I open my mouth and scream but no sound comes out except for a faint sigh.

Just like always. My voice was taken from me a long time ago. And I know no matter how hard I try that no one will hear me.

Where am I? Who was that man? Where did he bring me and why?

With my back against the glass panes, I sink to the floor.

I can still barely make out my environment or feel my own skin. I’m numb from the drug he gave me and numb from the shock.

But I still don’t cry. I close my mouth and stop breathing. I stop moving. Like a rock, I stay put and pretend I’m not there.

Why?

Because something across the room, not far from me, still captures my attention.

Something lurking in the dark behind the glass.

I’m not alone.

Clarissa Wild is a New York Times & USA Today Bestselling author, best known for the dark Romance novel Mr. X. Her novels include the Fierce Series, the Delirious Series, the Stalker Duology, Twenty-One (21), Ultimate Sin, Viktor, Unprofessional Bad Boys, RUIN, the Indecent Games Series, and FATHER. She is an avid reader and writer of sexy stories about hot men and feisty women. Her other loves include her furry cat friend and learning about different cultures. In her free time she enjoys watching all sorts of movies, reading tons of books and cooking her favorite meals.